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SANDY  RUN  BAPTIST  CHURCH 
Roxobel ,  Bertie  County,  North  Carolina 

A  HISTORY 
in  Recognition  of  its 
Bicentennial 
1750-1950 

by 

John  E.  Tyler 


FOREWORD 


In  commemoration  of  its  two  hundredth  anniversary 
(1750-1950)   I  was  requested  by  Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church  to 
prepare  a  history  of  this  ancient  institution.   If  I  have 
dwelt  at  length  on  its  origin  and  early  development,   it  is 
because  these  early  formative  years  were  years  of 
uncertainty  and  struggle.  These  were  years  when  the  church 
was  exposed  to  many  influences  and  ideas.  These  were  years 
which  saw  the  shaping  of  the  character  of  the  Sandy  Run 
Church.  Like  any  well  constructed  house,  built  on  a  firm 
foundation,   the  Sandy  Run  Church  has  endured. 

In  preparing  this  history  I  wish  to  express  my 
appreciation  for  their  assistance  to  Miss  Mattie  Livermon, 
Mrs.  Paul  Jilcott,  Miss  Eva  Watson,  Mr.  Malcolm  Brown, 
Rev.   George  E.   Reynolds,  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Wake 
Forest  Library,  Miss  Mary  Thornton,    in  charge  of  the  North 
Carolina  Room  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
others  who  have  helped  me  in  obtaining  information. 


Roxobel,  N.  C. 
July,  1950 


John  E.  Tyler 


HISTORY  OF  SANDY  RUN  BAPTIST  CHURCH  1750-1950 

by  John  E.  Tyler 


The  origin  of  the  Sandy  Run  Church,  the  oldest  Baptist 
church  in  Bertie  County,  is  intricately  connected  with  the  early 
growth  of  the  Baptist  faith  in  North  Carolina.  It  is  assumed  that 
there  were  some  Baptists  among  the  early  settlers  in  the 
province,  who  drifted  down  from  Virginia  during  the  second  half 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  seeking  the  rich  and  more  bountiful 
lands  along  the  Meherrin,  Chowan  and  other  streams  which  flow 
into  the  Albemarle  Sound.  It  is  known  that  the  Quakers  were  well 
represented  and  that  the  Church  of  England  was  established  by 
1701.  The  first  contemporary  record  of  the  presence  of  Baptist  in 
the  colony,  however,  does  not  appear  until  1714. 

Under  the  guidance  of  Paul  Palmer,   the  first  Baptist  church 
in  North  Carolina  was  established  in  1727  in  Chowan  County.  This 
church,  however,  was  short  lived  and  was  soon  scattered.  Its 
first  and  only  local  pastor  is  believed  to  have  been  a  young 
preacher  named  Joseph  Parker,  who  afterwards  moved  to  Meherrin  in 
present  Hertford  County  and  who  in,., all  probability  took  a  number 
of  its  members  with  him  to  begin  the  church  there.   In  the 
meantime  a  church  had  been  established  at  Shiloh  in  present  day 
Camden  County  making  it  the  earliest  permanent  Baptist  church  in 
North  Carolina. 


Page  -  1 


As  the  little  North  Carolina  colony  began  to  expand  in  a 
westward  and  southward  direction  from  its  nucleus  about  the 
Albemarle  region,  we  find  the  Baptist  church  spreading  with  the 
increasing  population.   In  1722  Bertie  Precinct  had  been  formed, 
as  a  part  of  Chowan  County,  embracing  the  lands  west  of  the 
Chowan  River,  extending  northward  to  the  Virginia  line,  with  the 
Roanoke  River  forming  part  of  its  southern  boundary  up  to  Welch's 
Creek.  Therefore,  when  Joseph  Parker  moved  to  Meherrin  about  1729 
or  1730  he  located  in  what  was  at  that  time  a  part  of  Bertie 
Precinct,  which,   also,  at  that  time  was  changed  to  Bertie  County. 
All  the  while  a  great  number  of  people  were  continually  moving 
down  into  North  Carolina  from  the  counties  across  the  line  in 
southern  Virginia. 

The  church  which  Parker  established  at  Meherrin  was  the 
first  Baptist  church  to  be  founded  west  of  the  Chowan  River.  The 
@hUf§h  s£  Meherrin  aervad  an  area  which  today  includes  Bertie, 
Northampton  and  Hertford  Counties  and  parts  of  Gates  County.  In 
view  of  the  increasing  population,   in  this  area,  other  churches 
sprang  up  in  the  more  thickly  populated  sections.  Therefore,  the 
difficulties  of  travel  were  curtailed  by  the  reduction  of  the 
distance  that  the  members  had  to  go  to  reach  a  meeting  house. 
Such  would  seem  to  be  the  cause  for  the  establishment  of  what  was 
to  become  Sandy  Run  Church,  for  about  1740  "Joseph  Parker  and  his 
people  at  Meherrin  dismissed  by  letter  enough  of  their  members  to 
form  what  was  long  known  as  the  Bertie  Church,  but  later  as  Sandy 
Run".(l)     This  new  church  was  located  some  twenty-five  miles 
south  of  the  church  at  Meherrin  and  several  miles  from  Sandy  Run, 

Page  -  2 


which  flowed  into  the  Roanoke  River.  This  church  which  first 
became  known  as  the  Bertie  Church  was,  according  to  George  W. 
Paschal,  the  Baptist  historian,   the  fourth  Baptist  church 
established  in  North  Carolina.  With  the  quick  demise  of  the  first 
church  started  in  Chowan  County,   it  became  the  third  oldest 
Baptist  church  to  endure. 

Several  dates  have  been  given  for  the  founding  of  what  we 
now  know  as  Sandy  Run  Church.  Included  are  1740,   1750,  1754-55- 
56,   1773.  The  date,   1750,   is  most  generally  given  in  the  minutes 
of  the  different  associations  to  which  the  church  has  belonged 
and  is  the  date  accepted  by  it.     No  doubt,   this  is  because  1750 
was  the  year  in  which  the  church  presumably  received  its 
constitution  and  became  an  independent  or  separate  unit.  The  fact 
that  it  was  established  as  an  independent  body  in  1750,  however, 
proves  that  it  existed  as  a  branch  of  some  other  church  before 
that  date.  The  dates  concerning  the  founding  of  the  Bertie  (later 
Sandy  Run)  Church  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1740-Founded  as  a  branch  of  the  Meherrin  Church.  During  the 
following  decade  it  became  associated  with  the  Kehukee  Church  as 
a  branch  of  that  church. 

1750-Constituted  and  established  as  an  independent  body. 

1754-55-56-Approximate  dates  re-established  under  new 
constitution. 

1773-Reorganized  by  Rev.  Lemuel  Burkitt. 

The  site  of  its  first  meeting  house  was  located  about  three 
miles  from  Norfleets  Ferry  on  the  Roanoke  River  and  about  two 

Page  -  3 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/sandyrunbaptistcOOtyle 


miles  from  Sandy  Run(2)  not  far  from  the  present  town  of  Roxobel, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  what  was  known  as  Bishops  Mill  Pond.  When 
the  first  church  building  was  erected  is  not  known.  However,  it 
had  been  built  by  October,   1761,   for  at  that  time  John  Skinner  of 
Bertie  County,  who  lived  in  that  area,  gave  to  "the  Baptist 
Society"  a  deed  of  gift  to  one  acre,   "it  being  the  place  on  which 
the  people  aforesaid  have  built  a  meeting  house  for  her  public 
worship  of  God."  This  property  adjoined  his  own  and  that  of 
Benjamin  Harrell.   In  a  later  deed  of  1765  the  boundary  of  the 
edge  of  the  church  property  is  referred  to  as  "the  meeting  house 
line" . 

Northampton  County  was  carved  out  of  Bertie  in  1741  and 
Hertford  County  in  1759.  With  the  establishment  of  those  two 
counties,  Bertie  lost  much  of  its  territory.  Though,  now,  located 
only  a  few  miles  from  the  boundaries  of  both  these  new  counties, 
the  site  of  the  church,  begun  in  1740  by  some  of  the  congregation 
for  the  Meherrin  Church,   still  remained  in  Bertie  County.  As  the 
only  Baptist  church  in  the  reduced  boundaries  of  Bertie,   it  was 
known  as  the  Bertie  Church.  It  continued  to  be  known  as  the 
Bertie  Church  until  the  early  nineteenth  century.     For  a  number 
of  years  after  it  was  constituted  an  independent  church  in  1750, 
it  and  the  Meherrin  Church  were  the  only  Baptist  churches  between 
the  Roanoke  and  Chowan  Rivers. 

Little  is  known  of  these  first  struggling  years  of  the 
Bertie  Church  because  there  are  no  records  or  minutes  to  tell  its 
story.  When  it  was  established  many  of  its  members  were  scattered 

Page  -  4 


over  the  county  in  different  neighborhoods.   It   is  possible  that 
Elder  Joseph  Parker  of  Meherrin  was  responsible  for  its  earliest 
guidance.  During  the  early  1740' s  there  was  formed  across  the 
Roanoke  River  from  the  Bertie  Church  another  Baptist  church.  This 
one,   founded  by  William  Soujourner,  was  located  at  Kehukee  in 
present  day  Martin  County.   It  and  the  Bertie  Church  were  to  play 
important  roles  in  the  development  of  the  Baptist  faith  for  the 
remainder  of  the  colonial  days  and  during  the  early  years  of 
North  Carolina's  statehood.  Unlike  the  Bertie  Church,  which  was 
evidently  formed  locally  from  a  larger  church  territory,  the 
first  members  of  the  Kehukee  Church,  migrated  directly  from  Isle 
of  Wight  County  in  Virginia,  because  of  a  "visiting  pestilential 
disease  which  carried  off  many  of  the  inhabitants."  This  Baptist 
congregation  was  seeking  a  more  healthy  region.  The  Kehukee 
Church,   from  its  beginning  was  a  strong  organization  and  under 
the  leadership  of  its  first  pastor  it  developed  several  prominent 
preachers. 

The  Bertie  Church  on  the  other  hand,  apparently  had  no 
regular  pastor  and  its  organization  was  rather  loose.  The 
proximity  of  the  Kehukee  Church  to  it,  however,  naturally  had  its 
effect  and  sometime  during  the  period  from  1740  to  1750  it 
appears  that  the  Bertie  Church  came  to  look  for  guidance  from  the 
Kehukee  Church  across  the  river,   ra*ther  than  from  its  mother 
church  at  Meherrin.  No  doubt  the  Kehukee  Church  began  to  supply 
its  preachers.  One  historian  says  that  the  Bertie  Church  became 
established  as  an  arm  of  the  Kehukee  Church,  becoming  an 
independent  body  in  1750.(3) 

Page  -  5 


Members  of  the  early  Baptist  churches  in  North  Carolina  were 
of  the  General  Baptist  inclination.  They  were,  no  doubt, 
influenced  to  some  degree  by  Elders  Paul  Palmer,   Joseph  Parker, 
William  Soujourner  and  others  who  as  their  pastors  and  leaders 
were  General  Baptist.  One  contributing  factor  which  should  not  be 
overlooked,  however,   is  that  many  of  these  first  Baptist  in  North 
Carolina  had  moved,  or  were  descended  from  families  who  had  moved 
into  the  colony  from  counties  across  the  border  in  southern 
Virginia,  where  a  number  of  General  Baptist  had  previously 
settled.   Isle  of  Wight  County,  Virginia,  particularly,   seems  to 
have  been  the  source  of  many  of  the  first  General  Baptist  in 
eastern  Carolina.  As  early  as  1700  a  number  of  General  Baptist 
from  England  had  settled  in  Isle  of  Wight  County.   From  this  area 
apparently  some  gradually  migrated  into  Carolina.   It  was  also 
from  Isle  of  Wight  County  that  William  Soujourner  brought  his 
little  band  of  General  Baptist  when  he  established  Kehukee  Church 
in  1742.  The  Bertie  Church,    like  other  Baptist  churches 
established  in  North  Carolina  before  1755  was  originally  a 
General  Baptist  Church. (4) 

In  1660  all  the  General  Baptist  in  England  had  sent 
representatives  to  London  where  they  put  forth  a  "confession  of 
faith"  that  they  might  make  known  their  principles  to  the  new 
King  Charles  11.(5)  In  1679  they  published  a  new  confession 
called  the  "Orthodox  Creed".   It  was  from  these  English  General 
Baptist  beliefs  that  the  first  Baptist  churches  in  North  Carolina 
were  descended.  Burkitt  and  Read  speaking  of  the  General  Baptist 

Paqe   -  6 


say,   "They  preached  and  adhered  to  the  Arminian  or  Free-will 
doctrine  and  their  churches  were  first  established  upon  this 
system.  They  gathered  churches  without  requiring  an  experience  of 
grace  previous  to  their  baptism;  but  baptized  all  who  believed  in 
the  doctrine  of  baptism  by  immersion  and  requested  baptism  of 
them.  The  churches  of  this  order  were  first  gathered  here  (North 
Carolina)  by  Elders  Paul  Palmer  and  Joseph  Parker;   and  were 
succeeded  by  a  number  of  ministers  whom  they  baptized." 

The  names  of  the  first  ministers  of  the  Bertie  Church  have 
not  been  preserved.  No  doubt  at  times  it  was  without  a  pastor  and 
at  times,  as  already  mentioned,   probably  Joseph  Parker  or  his 
converts  preached  here.   It  can  be  assumed  that  the  Kehukee  Church 
also  supplied  some  of  its  ministers. 

The  earliest  minister  who  had  charge  of  the  Bertie  Church  of 
whom  there  is  recorded  evidence  was  Thomas  Pope.  He  was  born  near 
Blackwater,  Virginia  about  1728,  embraced  the  principles  of  the 
General  Baptist  and  evidently,   on  moving  into  Carolina,  was 
baptized  by  Elder  William  Soujourner  in  1749.(6)  He  was  ordained 
about  1751.  He  married  Alice  Foreman,  who  was  the  Widow  Ford. (7) 

In  1751  Rev.  Thomas  Pope  was  pastor  at  Kehukee  and  at  the 
same  time  was  probably  supplying  foV  the  Bertie  Church.  Though 
several  years  later  when  he  reorganized  it,   the  members  seemed  to 
have  been  disorganized  and  pastorless.  At  this  time  the  effect  of 
the  Particular  Baptist  was  beginning  to  creep  into  the  North 
Carolina  churches,  which  would  bring  about  a  transformation  in 

Page  -  7 


most  Baptist  churches  in  the  colony,    including  the  Bertie  Church. 
The  Particular  Baptist  were  also  known  as  New  Lights  and  later  as 
Regular  Baptist.  Their  confession  of  faith,  which  was  published 
in  London  in  1689  containing  thirty-two  articles,  held  to  the 
Calvinist  principles,  a  more  rigid  doctrine  than  that  professed 
by  the  General  Baptist. 

The  movement  in  North  Carolina  seems  to  have  first  been 
started  by  Rev.  Robert  Williams,  who  was  a  native  of  Northampton 
County.  He  had  gone  into  South  Carolina  in  1745  and  there  had 
been  trained  in  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  the  Welsh  Neck 
Bapt  i  st . 

"Returning  about  1750  on  a  visit  to  his  native  county  he 
began  to  propagate  his  Calvinistic  views.  He  had  a  great 
influence  with  the  General  Baptist,   especially  those  of  the 
Kehukee  Church."  Among  his  converts  there  was  one  William  Wall  is 
who  also  took  up  the  cause.    "At  the  same  time  Rev.  Edward  Brown 
who  was  at  Great  Cohara  and  nearer  the  Welsh  Neck  district  began 
to  preach  Calvinism  and  seemingly  visited  Kehukee  and,  added  to 
what  had  already  been  done  by  Williams  and  Wall  is,  won  over  the 
pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Pope" (8),  who  was  also  serving  the  Bertie 
Church.   In  order  to  win  the  Carolina  churches  to  the  Particular 
Baptist  view,  Robert  Williams  and  others  sought  aid  from  the 
Philadelphia  Association,   the  oldest  Baptist  association  in 
America  and  a  stronghold  of  the  Calvinist  doctrine.  The 
Association  sent  Rev.  John  Gano ,  who  came  south  in  1754  to 
investigate.  On  hearing  his  story,  upon  his  return,  the 

Page  -  8 


Philadelphia  Association  moved  to  send  two  ministering  brothers 
to  North  Carolina  to  proselyte.   Paschal   in  his  history  says,  "It 
is  well  to  mark  the  warm  missionary  zeal  of  those  Philadelphia 
Baptist  and  their  readiness  to  make  contributions  of  money  to 
send  messengers  to  rescue  their  Carolina  brethren  from  error.  But 
for  it  we  should  have  a  very  different  type  of  Baptist  in  eastern 
North  Carolina  from  that  found  there  today." 

The  two  men  sent  on  this  important  mission  were  Peter 
Peterson  Vanhorn  and  Benjamin  Miller.  The  first  church  they 
visited  was  Kehukee ,   where  its  pastor,  Thomas  Pope,   was  already 
converted  to  the  Calvinist  doctrine.  There  in  December,   1755,  the 
Kehukee  Church  was  reorganized  after  the  Particular  Baptist 
order.  Shortly  thereafter,  perhaps  in  the  first  months  of  1756, 
Rev.  Thomas  Pope  crossed  the  Roanoke  River  into  Bertie  and  re- 
established the  Bertie  Church  under  a  constitution  which  adhered 
to  the  beliefs  of  the  Particular  Baptist.  Paschal  in  his  history 
gives  a  description  of  how  a  church  made  this  change  from  a 
General  Baptist  to  a  Particular  Baptist.  He  says,   "the  method  of 
reorganization  was  first  for  the  church  in  conference  to  disband 
whatever  organization  had  previously  existed,  which  in  most 
cases,   if  we  may  believe  Burkitt  and  Read,  had  been  very  loose. 
It  was  the  preacher's  church,   thqugh  he  had  his  deacons  also  in 
some  instances.  At  the  transformation  those  who  desired  to  come 
into  the  new  order  were  required  to  come  under  a  new  examination 
which  was  conducted  by  the  approved  ministers  of  the  Particular 
Baptist  faith  who  were  present  for  the  purpose.  This  examination 
was  intended  to  determine  whether  the  applicant  had  been 


converted  before  his  baptism  and  he  was  expected  to  satisfy  the 

examiners  by  a  relation  of  the  religious  experiences  which  had 

led  him  to  seek  baptism.  With  Miller  and  Vanhorn  those 

examinations  seemed  to  have  been  conducted  with  much  rigidity. 

When  Miller  and  Vanhorn  left  the  province  their  work  was 

continued  by  Rev.  Thomas  Pope  who  reorganized  numerous  churches 

ii 

under  the  rigid  Calvinist  rules. 

After  Pope,   the  next  minister  connected  with  the  Bertie 
Church,  as  its  pastor,  apparently  was  James  Abington.  He  was  a 
resident  of  Bertie  County  and  before  he  "became  religious,  he  was 
a  man  much  addicted  to  sporting  and  gaming,  and  very  vicious  in 
his  life  and  conversation".  He  was  converted  under  the  ministry 
of  Elder  Pope  and  joined  the  Bertie  Church,   of  which  he  became 
pastor  about  1764.  As  pastor  of  this  church,   Abington  was 
"Instrumental   in  gathering  a  considerable  number  of  members".  He 
was  "a  man  of  bright  genius,   a  ready  mind,   and  a  good  voice". 

In  1769  the  Kehukee  Baptist  Association,  modeled  after  the 
Philadelphia  Association,  was  formed.   Its  first  and  subsequent 
meetings  were  held  at  Kehukee  in  Halifax  county,   therefore  its 
name.  Not  only  did  the  North  Carolina  churches  join  this 
Association,  but  also  a  number  of  southern  Virginia  Churches.  The 
Bertie  Church  was  one  of  the  original  churches  to  be  represented 
at  the  Kehukee  Association    tfhen  it:;was  first  organized  in  1769. 
To  this  meeting,   the  Bertie  Church  sent  its  pastor,  James 
Abington.  Also  as  delegates  it  sent  Ephram  Daniel,  Thomas  Miers 
and  James  Vinson.  The  next  year,    in  1770  the  delegates  were  James 

Page  -  10 


his  meetings  a  sermon  of  Whitefield  or  Williston.   In  a  short  time 
he  began  to  write  his  own  sermons  and  engage  in  public  prayer.  It 
is  stated  that  "In  this  way  he  was  lead  by  degrees  to  abandon  the 
purpose  he  had  of  entering  the  profession  of  law,   and  became 
convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to  become  a  minister ".( 9 )     In  July 
1771  he  was  baptized  in  the  Pasquotank  River  by  Rev.  Henry  Abbot. 
Lemuel  Burkitt  was  seated  at  the  Kehukee  Association  meeting  in 
1773  as  a  delegate  from  the  Shiloh  Church  in  Pasquotank  now 
Camden  County  and  despite  his  youth  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
Association. 

Young  Burkitt,  with  Elders  Jonathan  Thomas  and  John  Moore 

were  appointed  by  the  Association  as  a  committee  to  investigate 

the  situation  in  the  Bertie  Church  and  advise  measures  which 

would  be  likely  to  regain  a  general  fellowship  in  the  church.  The 

committee  induced  the  members  to  undergo  a  re-examination  as  to 

their  fitness  for  membership.  A  majority  of  the  members  were 

received  and  the  church  was  re-established  under  a  new 

constitution  in  November  1773.  At  the  same  time  it  chose  Lemuel 

Burkitt  for  its  new  minister,  who  was  accordingly  ordained  by 

Elders  Jonathan  Thomas  and  John  Meglamre.  The  Baptist  historian, 

Dr.  G.  W.  Paschal  says  "For  the  next  third  of  a  century  he 

(Burkitt)  was  the  most  influential  man  among  the  Baptist  of  North 

*         *  * 

Carolina  and  gave  direction  and  character  to  Baptist  development 
in  the  eastern  half  of  the  state".  This  was  the  man  who  in  1773 
had  become  pastor  of  the  Bertie  Church,  a  position,  he  was  to 
hold  until  his  death.  The  first  ruling  elders  for  the  Bertie 
Church  upon  its  reorganization  in  1773  were  James  Vinson, 

Page  -  12 


Winbourn  Jenkins,  Jonas  Woods,   and  James  Jenkins.  The  first 
deacons  were  James  Rutland,   Shadrack  Dunning,   Sander  Futrel , 
Robert  Moral,  Henry  Suton  and  Jesse  Wi 1 1 iams . ( 1 0 )   Lemuel  Burkett, 
on  moving  into  the  Roanoke-Chowan  area  first  lived  in  Hertford 
County.   In  1788  he  was  a  delegate  from  that  county  to  the 
Hillsboro  convention  to  consider  the  ratification  of  the  United 
States  constitution.  A  majority  of  the  convention,  including 
Burkett  acting  as  a  committee  of  the  whole,  proposed  that  no 
actions  be  taken  on  the  ratification  until  a  bill  of  rights  were 
added  to  the  constitution.  This  naturally  was  passed  by  the 
convention  and  ratification  of  our  federal  constitution  was 
postponed  until   1789  when  it  was  ratified  at  the  Fayetteville 
convent  ion . 

In  1790,   Lemuel  Burkitt  moved  to  a  farm  in  Northampton 
County,   close  to  the  Bertie  County  boundary  at  Sandy  Run.  His 
first  wife  was  Hannah  Bell,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Bell  of 
Sussex  County,  Virginia  and  sister  to  Elder  James  Bell.  Their 
children  to  reach  maturity  were  three  daughters;  Mary,  Nancy  and 
Sally,  and  three  sons;  Lemuel,  Jr.,  William  and  Burges.  Elder 
Burkitt's  second  wife  was  Prudence  Watson,   also  of  Virginia,  by 
whom  he  had  one  child  who  died  in  infancy. 

Under  the  leadership  of  its  h*ew  pastor,   the  Bertie  Church 
witnessed  a  great  revival  which  began  early  in  1774.    In  that  year 
it  sent  as  delegates  to  the  Kehukee  Association,    its  new  pastor, 
Lemuel  Burkitt,   and  McAllister  Vinson,  James  Lassiter  and  Jesse 
Williams.   In  December  of  that  year  Rev.  Jonathan  Thomas  preached 

Page  -  13 


his  last  sermon  at  the  Bertie  meeting  house.   His  text  was  from 
Luke  XIV,  verse  23:    "Compel  them  to  come  in  that  my  house  may  be 
filled".   Burkitt  and  Read  describing  the  occasion  say  "There  was 
a  large  assembly,   and  but  few  in  the  congregation  but  what  were 
in  floods  of  tears;   and  many  cried  out  loudly".   Elder  Thomas  went 
home  from  Sandy  Run  complaining  of  a  bad  cold  and  early  the 
following  year  he  died.  The  work  of  the  revival  continued  for  two 
years  during  which  time  Rev.   Burkitt  brought  nearly  150  new 
members  into  the  church.   In  1777  the  membership  of  the  church  was 
217.(11) 

About  1775  some  of  the  members  of  the  Meherrin  Church  living 
on  or  near  "Pottacasy"  Creek  in  Northampton  County  formed  a 
separate  fellowship.  Under  the  influence  of  Rev.   Lemuel  Burkitt, 
this  group  soon  became  a  part  of  the  Bertie  Church. 

At  the  time  Burkitt  took  over  the  Bertie  Church  and  began 
his  revival,   the  influence  of  the  Separate  Baptist  was  beginning 
to  have  its  effect  on  a  number  of  the  ministers  of  the  Kehukee 
Association.   According  to  Burkitt  and  Read,   the  Separatist  first 
arose  in  New  England,  where  some  pious  ministers  and  members  left 
the  Presbyterian  of  Standing  Order  on  account  of  their  formality 
and  superfluity.  They  appeared  in  North  Carolina  as  early  as 
1755.  °  * 

The  Separate  Baptist  believed  in  a  more  evangelistic  or 
missionary  spirit  than  was  evident  in  the  Particular  Baptist.  The 
Separate  Baptist  also  insisted  on  a  converted  membership  with  a 

Page  -  14 


strict  examination  before  approval.  The  Particular  Baptist  were 
supposed  to  uphold  a  similar  policy,  but  a  number  of  churches  in 
the  Kehukee  area  had  grown  lax  in  this  matter  and  many  were 
slipping  back  to  the  old  ways  of  the  General  Baptist. 

It  was  held  by  several  of  the  churches  of  the  Kehukee 
Association  that  the  Separate  and  the  Particular  Baptist  should 
be  brought  together.  However,   the  Separate  insisted  on  a 
reformation  in  the  Particular  Baptist  churches  before  such  union 
would  be  considered. 

Rev.   Burkitt  had  been  in  sympathy  with  the  Separate  Baptist 
views  before  he  became  pastor  of  the  Bertie  Church.  The  revival 
which  he  began  in  1774  was  a  result  of  the  Separate  Baptist 
influence.  At  that  time  he  led  the  Bertie  Church  in  open 
conference  to  declare  for  a  purified  church  membership,  urging 
that  repentance  and  faith  should  precede  baptism,  and  that  the 
church  therefore  exclude  those  who  admitted  they  had  been 
baptized  in  unbelief.  The  church  convinced  of  his  arguments, 
agreed  to  withdraw  fellowship  from  all  churches  who  maintained  a 
contrary  doctrine.   It  was  one  of  the  first  churches  in  the 
Kehukee  Association  to  undertake  this  new  movement. 

» 

Shortly  after  the  Bertie  Church  had  effected  this 
reformation,   three  churches  in  Virginia  brought  about  a  similar 
reform  in  their  churches.  This  breech  in  the  Association  which 
had  been  widening  for  sometime,   finally  resulted  in  a  division  in 
1775  and  for  several  years  theological  questions  concerning 

Page  -  15 


salvation  were  argued  at  its  meetings.  Burkitt  and  Read  however 
say  that  "it  was  not  many  years  before  all  the  churches  were 
united  again  and  the  name  Regular  and  Separate  buried  in 
obi i vion . " 

In  1784  the  Kehukee  Association  met  at  the  Bertie  Church. 
Before  it  was  to  meet  at  this  church  again,   the  association  was 
to  be  greatly  reduced  by  the  creation  of  two  new  associations 
from  its  territory.   By  1790  the  Kehukee  Association  perhaps  had 
reached  its  maximum  growth,  having  increased  to  sixty  one 
churches,  with  a  membership  scattered  over  a  wide  territory  in 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  In  that  year  the  Virginia  churches 
withdrew  to  form  the  Virginia  Portsmouth  Association  to  be 
followed  in  1793  by  the  churches  south  of  the  Tar  River 
withdrawing  to  form  the  Neuse  Association.  Earlier,   in  1789,  the 
Bertie  Church  also  had  lost  members  when  the  Connaritsa  Church, 
about  ten  miles  away  in  Bertie  County,  was  constituted. 

In  1794  the  Kehukee  Association  met  for  the  second  time  at 
the  Bertie  Church. (12)  The  membership  of  the  association  at  this 
time  had  been  reduced  to  twenty-six  churches  as  a  result  of  the 
two  divisions.  At  this  meeting,  Meherrin,  mother  church  of  the 
Bertie  Church,  applied  for  admission.  She  had  remained  a  General 
Baptist  Church  through  all  the  year's,  but  had  lately  been 
reformed,  and  was  thus  received  into  the  Association. 

At  its  1791  meeting  the  Kehukee  Association     subscribed  to 
the  Baptist  Annual  Register,  a  periodical,  printed  in  London  by 

Page  -  16 


in  London  by  John  Rippon,  and  at  the  same  time  appointed  Elder 
Lemuel  Burkitt  correspondent  to  it  for  the  Association.  He 
undertook  this  important  work  and  contributed  to  the  publication 
for  some  twelve  years. 

During  this  period  he  assembled  much  valuable  information  on 
the  religious  affairs  of  the  Baptist  in  eastern  North  Carolina.  A 
great  deal  of  this  material  which  first  appeared  in  London  in 
Rippon's  Register,  was  later  used  in  compiling  his  history  of  the 
Kehukee  Association.   In  1803  Elders  Lemuel  Burkitt  and  Jesse  Read 
were  co-authors  of  the  first  history  of  the  Kehukee  Association 
to  be  produced.  This  volume  was  published  at  Halifax,  North 
Carol ina . ( 1 3 )   It  is  an  invaluable  record  of  the  early  Particular 
Baptist  in  North  Carolina. 

As  stated  before,  the  contribution  that  Rev.   Lemuel  Burkitt 
made  to  the  early  progress  of  the  Baptist  faith  in  North  Carolina 
is  difficult  to  over-estimate.  Burkitt  was  consistently  elected 
clerk  to  the  Kehukee  Association.  He  was  the  originator  of  many 
of  the  theological  questions  which  were  introduced  at  the 
Association  meetings  for  discussion  and  settlement  and  he  often 
formulated  answers  to  the  inquiries  proposed  by  other  members. 

The  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw  the  "culmination 
of  all  the  great  services  of* Burkitt".  This  came  about  in  the 
Great  Revival  which  swept  through  the  entire  country,   and  which 
did  much  to  give  the  people  that  evangelical  seal  and  missionary 


Page  -  17 


spirit  which  prepared  them  for  cooperative  work  in  missionary 
societies  and  the  Baptist  State  Convention. 

On  hearing  the  news  of  the  revival  in  Kentucky,  Rev.  Lemuel 
Burkitt  set  out  for  that  state  to  learn  if  the  reports  were  true. 
Speaking  of  this  journey.  Paschal  says,   "Though  he   (Burkitt)  was 
already  past  fifty  years  of  age,  yet  he  was  of  wiry  and  tough 
frame.  Probably  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  leaving  the  plains 
of  the  Atlantic  Slope  he  climbed  the  majestic  mountains  which  lay 
in  his  way  to  Kentucky."  When  he  arrived  the  revival  was  going  on 
with  unabated  progress.   Seeing  the  wonderful  works  of  grace  "his 
soul  caught  the  seraphic  flame.  He  preached  most  night  and  day 
for  several  weeks,   in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  with  great 
acceptance,   then  returned  home  fired  with  an  ardent  zeal 
surpassing  anything  his  friends  had  before  seen."  Burkitt 
immediately  took  up  the  work  of  the  revival   in  his  home  territory 
describing  the  great  work  that  had  been  done  across  the 
mountains.   In  two  years  1,500  new  members  had  been  added  by 
baptism  to  the  churches  of  the  Kehukee  Association.   People  would 
flock  by  the  thousands  to  hear  Elder  Burkitt  as  he  went  from 
church  to  church  throughout  the  Association. 

At  the  Meherrin  church  in  August  1803  it  was  estimated  that 
some  4,000  people  were  present  to  Hear  him.  A  stage,   from  which 
Burkitt  was  to  preach,  had  been  erected  in  the  meeting  house  yard 
for  the  occasion.  The  weather  was  very  threatening  and  before  he 
had  finished  the  rain  descended  in  a  downpour.  "Yet 
notwithstanding  the  numerous  congregation  still  kept  together; 

Page  -  18 


effort  was  used  to  shun  the  rain  by  umbrellas,  carriages, 
blankets,   etc.   yet  we  believe  1,000  people  were  exposed  to  the 
rain  without  shelter,   some  crying,   some  convulsed  on  the  ground, 
some  begging  the  ministers  to  pray  for  them;   and  they  composedly 
stood  and  received  the  falling  shower  without  ever  being 
dispersed. "( 14 )   Such  was  the  power  of  Burkitt's  eloquence. 

During  the  period  that  Rev.   Burkitt  was  pastor  of  the  Bertie 
Church  a  number  of  "ministering  brethren  had  been  raised  up  in  it 
and  called  to  the  work  of  the  ministry."  These  included  Elders 
Amos  Harrell,   Robert  Moral,  McAllister  Vinson,   Pitts  Kirby, 
Frederick  Futrell,  James  Rutland  and  James  Vinson.  Most  of  these 
men  left  to  spread  the  Baptist  faith  throughout  other  sections  of 
North  Carolina. 

The  minutes  of  the  Bertie  Church  were  kept  by  Elder  Burkitt, 
who  also  acted  as  its  clerk.  They  cover  the  years  from  1773  to 
1804  and  are  the  oldest  record  of  the  church  known  to  be  in 
existence. ( 15 )  To  the  efforts  of  Rev.  Burkitt,  we,   today,  are 
indebted  for  this  insight  into  the  early  life  of  Sandy  Run  Church 
when  it  was  known  as  the  Bertie  Church.   In  these  minutes  are 
listed  the  members  of  the  church  and  included  are  the  names  of 
some  125  Negro  slaves  who  were  in  full   fellowship  with  the 
church. 

* 

In  1806  it  was  found  advantageous  to  make  another  division 
in  the  Kehukee  Association.  This  time  all  the  churches  east  of 
the  Roanoke  River  were  dismissed  by  letter  to  form  the  Chowan 

Page  -  19 


the  Roanoke  River  were  dismissed  by  letter  to  form  the  Chowan 
Baptist  Association.  The  Bertie  Church,   a  member  of  the  Kehukee 
Association  since  its  beginning  in  1769,   as  a  result  of  this 
latest  division,  was  now  a  member  of  the  new  organization. 
Brother  George  Outlaw  was  made  first  Moderator  and  Elder  Lemuel 
Burkitt  was  made  clerk. 

The  following  year,   1807,   saw  the  death  of  Rev.   Burkitt.  He 
had  been  pastor  of  The  Bertie  Church  since  1773  and  was  largely 
responsible  for  its  being  one  of  the  outstanding  churches  of  that 
period.  His  funeral  was  preached  by  Elder  Spivey,   who  used  as  his 
text,  Paul's  2nd  Epistle  "For  I  am  ready  to  be  offered  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand".  He  was  buried  near  his  home, 
close  by  Sandy  Run.  A  highway  historical  marker  is  soon  to  mark 
the  near  by  site  of  his  grave.   In  the  death  of  such  a  predominant 
figure  as  Rev.   Burkitt,   the  Bertie  Church  and  the  Chowan 
Association  must  have  felt  a  great  loss. (16) 

After  the  death  of  Burkitt,   the  Potecasi  branch  became 
independent  in  1808,  and  the  Bertie  Church  had  secured  Rev. 
Richard  Poindexter  as  its  pastor,  who  evidently  was  a  preacher  of 
much  ability.  Beginning  in  1809  Rev.  Poindexter  served  the  church 
for  approximately  fifteen  years^  In  this  year  of  1809,  the 
recently  created  Chowan  Association  met  for  the  first  time  at 
Bertie  meeting  house. 

Sometime  between  1803  and  1821  the  Bertie  Church  was  moved 
from  its  first   location  to  Sandy  Run  on  the  Northampton-Bertie 

Paae  -  2  0 


boundary.  This  location  was  about  a  mile  from  the  present   town  of 
Roxobel,   beside  the  road  leading  into  Northampton  County.  The 
exact  date  that  the  church  made  this  move  from  its  earlier  site 
near  Bishop's  Mill  Pond  to  Sandy  Run,   or  why  the  move  was  made, 
is  not  known.  Perhaps  a  better  supply  of  water  and  easier 
accessibility  at  Sandy  Run  prompted  the  change,   coupled  with  the 
fact  that  adjacent  to  the  site  selected  was  the  home  and  grave  of 
the  church's  beloved  Rev.  Burkitt. 

The  chanqe  had  not  been  affected  by  1803,   for  in  that  year 
Burkitt  gives  the  church  location  as  some  two  miles  from  Sandy 
Run.  That  the  move  was  made  prior  to  1821  is  proven  by  a  deed  of 
gift.   In  that  year  William  Britton,(17)  a  substantial  landowner 
and  merchant  gave  the  tract  of  land,   consisting  of  some  five 
acres  at  Sandy  Run  and  on  which  the  meeting  house  then  stood, 
according  to  the  conveyance.  The  deed  was  made  to  Joseph  Horn  and 
Godwin  Cotten,   as  deacons  of  the  Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church.   It  was 
witnessed  by  David  Bryan,  Will  Hinton  and  Turner  Horn. 

Apparently  for  some  years  prior  to  1825  the  church  had  been 
known  as  the  church  at  Sandy  Run  or  Sandy  Run  Church,   but  before 
that  it  still  appeared  on  the  minutes  of  the  Chowan  Association 
as  Bertie  Church.   In  1825,  however,    it  was  recorded  for  the  first 
time,  officially  as,   Sandy  Run  Church.   In  this  same  year  the 
Chowan  Association  for  the  second  time  held  its  annual  meeting  at 
the  Sandy  Run  meeting  house. 


Page  -  21 


Rev.  Richard  Poindexter  had  appeared  on  the  minutes  of  the 
Chowan  Association  as  a  delegate  from  Sandy  Run  for  the  last  time 
in  1824.  From  1825  through  1833  there  is  no  record  of  a  pastor 
attending  the  Association  from  Sandy  Run.  By  1834,  however,  is 
found  that  William  S.   Brown  was  serving  the  church.   In  1836  Rev. 
Andrew  M.  Craig  had  become  pastor  of  Sandy  Run.   In  the  following 
year,   1837,   Pleasant  Grove,    in  Hertford  County,   was  constituted 
as  a  separate  church.  One  historian  says  that  "under  the 
Dastorate  of  Lemuel  Burkitt  and  afterwards  under  that  of  A.  M. 
Craig  it  (Sandy  Run)  was  one  of  the  most  influential  bodies  of 
its  kind  in  eastern  Carol ina" .( 18 ) 

Rev.  Craig  was  born  in  1806,  ordained  at  Sandy  Run  Church 
in  1832,  and  for  the  next  twenty-five  years  was  associated  with 
Sandy  Run.  His  family,  on  coming  into  North  Carolina  had  settled 
in  Orange  County  and  though  he  had  been  reared  in  a  Presbyterian 
atmosphere  he  had  joined  the  Baptist  church..  Elder  Craig  was  to 
prove  a  minister  of  great  ability  and  became  an  outstanding 
figure  through  the  Roanoke-Chowan  area.  He  married  Rebecca  Gil  lam 
of  Bertie  County.  They  were  the  parents  of  Rev.   Braxton  Craig, 
another  capable  Baptist  divine  and  the  Hon.  Locke  Craig,  Governor 
of  North  Carolina.  In  1842  Rev.  D.  Harrell  was  listed  as  Pastor 
of  Sandy  Run,  but  in  1844  Elder  Craig  was  again  in  charge  of  the 
church. 

The  church  continued  to  be  situated  at  its  second  location 
on  Sandy  Run  until  1854,  when  it  was  moved  to  its  present  site  in 
the  town  of  Roxobel.  This  time  the  land  for  the  church  was  a  gift 

Page  -  22 


trustees  for  the  Church.   In  this  year  the  Rich  Square  Church  was 
also  formed  by  members  from  Sandy  Run. 

In  1861,   the  Chowan  Association  met  for  the  last  time  at 
Sandy  Run  Church.   In  this  year,  besides  Rev.  Andrew  Craig,  two 
other  preachers  were  listed  as  being  affiliated  with  Sandy  Run. 
They  were  Everett  Hancock  and  T.  Pittman.  Elder  Hancock,   born  in 
Virginia  in  1807,  had  been  baptized  by  Rev.   Craig  in  1843.  He  was 
ordained  in  1852  and  in  1862  was  called  to  the  pastoral  care  of 
Sandy  Run  Church,  but  his  ministry  here  was  of  short  duration  for 
he  died  in  1865.  After  the  death  of  Rev.  Hancock,   Sandy  Run  was 
served  by  Rev.  J.   Bunch  in  1873  and  the  Rev.   T.  J.   Rook  in  1877. 

The  West  Chowan  Association  was  cut  off  from  the  Chowan 
Association  in  1883  and  Sandy  Run  Church  again  found  itself  in  a 
new  organization.  This  same  year  the  Lewiston  Church  was  cut  off 
from  Sandy  Run.   Among  the  pastors  at  Sandy  Run  during  this  period 
from  1880  until  the  turn  of  the  century  were  Revs.   Charles  W. 
Scarboro,  W.   B.  Wingate,  J.  W.  Powell,  Archibald  Cree,  Alexander 
Speight,  and  T.  T.   Speight.   In  1895  the  West  Chowan  Association 
met  at  Sandy  Run. 

The  oldest  continuous  organization  to  which  Sandy  Run  Church 
still  belongs  is  the  Bertie  Union  Meeting. (19)  This  assembly 
which  now  embraces  the  same  territory  as  the  West  Chowan 
Association,  was  established  prior  to  1803,  perhaps  during  the 
early  years  of  the  Kehukee  Association.  These  Union  Meetings  were 
first  established  as  local  units  within  the  Kehukee  Association 

Page  -  23 


for  the  benefit  of  those  churches  which  were  closely  situated  to 
one  another. 

The  first  members  of  the  Bertie  Union  Meeting  included  Sandy 
Run  and  the  Cashie,  Wiccacon,   Connaritsa  and  Meherrin  churches. 
Most  of  these  churches  were  located  in  Bertie  County,  which  thus 
explains  why  it  was  given  the  name  of  Bertie  Union  Meeting.  Its 
constitution  called  for  an  annual  gathering  of  its  members  so 
that  they  may  come  in  fellowship  with  one  another.  These  meetings 
at  first  often  lasted  several  days  and  were  well  attended  by  all 
the  neighboring  churches,   proving  an  inspiration  to  all  present. 
One  of  the  first  efforts  for  the  establishment  of  Chowan  College 
at  Murfreesboro  was  made  through  the  Bertie  Union  Meeting. 
Through  the  years  these  meetings  have  been  discontinued  in  some 
sections,   but  the  Bertie  Union  Meeting  still  carries  on. 

In  November  1898,   Sandy  Run  Church  dismissed  by  letter 
twenty-two  of  its  members  to  form  a  church  at  Kelford.  Through 
the  ages  from  Sandy  Run  had  developed  the  churches  at  Connaritsa, 
Potecasi,  Pleasant  Grove,  Lewiston,  Rich  Square,  Kelford  and  part 
of  the  congregation  of  the  Aulander  church. 

On  July  24,   1936  the  very  fine  wooden  church  building,  with 
its  memorial  windows  was  struck  by  lightening  and  burned  to  the 
ground.  Members  of  Sandy  Run  immediately  began  work  to  replace  it 
with  the  modern  brick  church  which  now  serves  the  congregation.  A 
dedication  service  for  the  new  church  was  held  on  June  9,  1940. 


Page  -  24 


Since  1900  among  the  ministers  who  have  served  Sandy  Run 
Church  have  been,  Revs.  J.  0.  Alderman,  Mcintosh,  Dancey  Cale,  R. 
L.  Gay,  J.  W.  Downey,  Mr.  Dailey,  J.  F.  Cale,  N.  J.  Todd,  W.  H. 
Hollowell,  Jesse  Blalock,  J.  L.  Powers,  N.  H.   Sheppard,   C.  E. 
Gaddy,  C.  M.   Billings,   Braxton  L.  Davis,  Harold  White,   J.  Wade 
Baker,  G.  M.   Singletary  and  its  present  pastor,   Rev.  George  E. 
Reynolds . 

The  Sandy  Run  Church  of  today  is  a  far  cry  from  the  handful 
of  members  who  brought  it  into  existence  two  hundred  years  ago. 
Its  present  membership  is  approximately  360,   but  there  are  untold 
numbers,  who,   through  its  long  history,  have  gone  out  from  this 
ancient  institution  to  settle  in  other  parts  of  the  state  and 
nation,   taking  with  them  and  continuing  the  life  of  the  Christian 
faith  as  they  first  experienced  it  in  Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church. 


Page  -  25 


FOOTNOTES 

Moore,  John  W.  manuscript  history  of  N.  C.   Baptist  in  the  Wake 
Drest  College  Library- 
Bur  kett  &  Read,  History  of  the  Kehukee  Association,   180  3 
Hufham.  N .  C.  Baptist  Historical  Papers.  Vol.   I,   p.  226 
Paschal,   N.  C.   Baptist,  p.  176 
Paschal,  N .  C.  Baptist,  p.  22 
Paschal,  N .  C.  Baptist,  p.  173 
Edwards,  Morgan  Notebook,   pp.   27  &  29. 
Paschal,   N.   C.   Baptist,  Vol.   I,   p.  206 
Paschal.  History  of  N_.   C.  Baptist ,.-  Vol .   I  p.  433 

0  From  the  Sandy  Run  Church  minutes  (1773-1804)   in  the  Wake  Forest 
olege  Library.  These  are  the  earliest  minutes  of  the  church  chat  have 
et  been  located. 

Burkett   &  Read,   History  of   the  Kehukee  Association,    d.  50 

2  Account  of  this  meeting,   as  well  as  the  one  in  1784,   are  given  in 
lurkitt  &  Read's  History  of  the  Kehukee  Association. 

1  A  second  edition  of  this  work  was  printed  in  1850  by  Elder 
irkitt's  grandson,   Henry  L.  Burkitt. 

4  Burkitt  &  Read,  History  of  Kehukee  Association 

5  Located  in  the  Wake  Forest  College  Library. 

6  Sometime  after  his  death  there  was  entered  at  the  end  of  the  Sandy 
:un  Church  Minute  Book,    (1773-1804)  a  biographical  sketch  of  Burkitt' s 
ife.  This  sketch  was  printed  in  the  Wake  Forest  Student,  October, 

905  . 

7  William  Britton  lived  at  the  crossroads  about  a  mile  from  Sandy  Run 
n  Bertie  County.   This  crossroads  had  previously  been  called  "Cotton's 
!ross  Roads",   but  was  to  be  called  Britton's  Cross  Roads  or  Britton's 
Bore,    for  a  number  of  years  until   it  was  named  Roxobel   in  1847. 

8.   J.   D.  Hufman,   N.   C.   Baptist  Historical  Papers,   Vol.    I,   p.  226. 

.9  Its  early  constitution  is  printed  in  Burkitt  &  Read's  History  of  ' 
:he  Kehukee  Association. 


Page  -  25 


PASTORS  AT  SANDY  RUN  BAPTIST  CHURCH 


1750 


1760 


1770 


Thomas  Pope 


James  Abington 


Lemuel  Burkitt 


1780 


1870 


1880 


1890 


Lemuel  Burkitt 


J.  Bunch 
T.   J.  Rook 


Charles  W.  Scarboro 
W.    B.  Winqate 


J.   W.  Powell 
A.  Cree 

Alexander  Speight 
T.   T.  Speight 


1790 


Lemuel  Burkitt 


1800 


Lemuel  Burkitt 
Richard  Poindexter 


1810 


Richard  Poindexter 
John  Crumpler 
Richard  Poindexter 


1820 


Richard  Poindexter 


1900 


1910 


1920 


J .   0 .  .  A 1 de rman 
M.  Mcintosh 
Dancy  Cale 
R.    L.  Gay 


Mr .   Dai  ley 

J.  W.  Downey 

J.   F.  Cale 

N.   J.  Todd 

W.   H .  Holloweli 


Jesse  Blalock 
J.    L.  Powers 
N.   H.  Sheppard 
C.    E.  Gaddy 
C.  M.  Billinas 


1830 

William  S.  Brown 
Andrew  M.  Craig 

1840 

Andrew  M.  Craig 
0.  Harrell 
Andrew  M.  Craig 

1850 


1930 

C.   M.  Billinas 
Braxton  L.  Davis 

1940 

Harold  White 
J.  Wade  Baker 
G.  M.  Singletary 
George  E.  Reynolds 

1950 

George  E.  Reynolds 


Andrew  M.  Craig 


1860 

Andrew  M.  Craig 
T.  Pittman 
Everett  Hancock 


Churches  Formed  From  Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church 


Connaritsa  --  1789 

Potecasi  --  1808 

Pleasant  Grove         --  1837 

Rich  Square  --  1854 

Lewiston  --  1883 

Kelford  --  1898 

Aulander  --  1886 


(part  of  conar eaat i on ) 


GENERAL  BAPTIST 


PARTICULAR  BAPTIST 


(Held  with  Arminian 
faith) 

(Free  Will  doctrine) 

Confession  of  faith 
subscribed  by  Elders 
in  London  and  several 
Counties  in  England 
and  presented  to 
King  Charles  II. 


Phi ladelphia 
Baptist  Association 


Vanhorn  &  Miller 

(Known  as  New  Lights) 

Adopted  the  Baptist 
confession  of  faith 
Published  in  London 
in  1689,  contained 
32  Articles. 
Doctrine  of  Grace. 
Calvinist 


SEPARATE 
BAPTIST 


i 

t 

i  i 
i  i 


REGULAR 


PRIMITIVE 


MISSIONARY 
BAPTIST 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Published  Sources 

Burkitt  &  Read 

A  Concise  History  of  the  Kehukee  Baptist 
Association  From  its  Original  Rise  down 
to  1803.    (Revised  and  improved  by  Henry 
L.   Burk i  1 1 )  . 

Philadelphia  -  Lippincott,   Grambo  &  Co. 
1850 

Delke,    James  A. 

History  of  North  Carolina  Chowan  Baptist 
Association .  1806-1881 

Raleigh:   Edwards,   Brouqhton  &  Co. 
Publishers  1883. 

Paschal,    Georqe  Washington 

History  of  North  Caro Una  Bap t i s t 

Vol.   I  -  1663  -  1805. 
Raleigh  -  1930 


Sempl e ,    Rober t  B . 


History  of  Virginia  Baptist .   Publ i shed 
in  1810,    (in  the  Wake  Forest  College 
Library ) 


Articles  and  Manuscripts 


Barnes,   G.  H. 

"Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church; 
An  Appreciation",   newspaper  article  in 
the  Wake  Forest  Library 

Moore,   John  W. 

"History  of  North  Carolina  Baptist" 
Manuscript   in  the  Wake  Forest  Collece 
Library 


Tyler  Charles  C. 

"Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church" 
An  historical  sketch  -  from  the 
Roanoke  Chowan  Times,   June  20,    1940,  in 
the  Wake  Forest  College  Library. 

Tyler,  John 


"Lemuel  Burkitt";  biographical  sketch, 
appeared  in  the  Bertie  Ledger  Advance, 
Windsor,   N .   C-  circa  1948- 


Organizational  Papers  and  Minutes 

Chowan  Baptist  Association  Minutes- 

Vol .    I,    1806-1845-  in  the  Wake  Forest  College 

Library 

Edwards,   Morgan- "Mater ials  Towards  a  History  of  North 
Carolina  Baptists"- 

Hufman,   J.   D.   N.   C.   Baptist  Historical  Papers  Vol.1 

Kuhekee  Baptist  Association  Minutes- 

1769-1776,    in  the  North  Carolina  Collection, 
Wilson  Library,  University  of  North  Carolina, 
Chapel  Hill,   N.  C. 

Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church  Minutes- 

Vol .    I   1773-1804   in  the  Wake  Forest  Colleae 
Library-  These  are  the  earliest  minutes  of  the 
church  known  to  exist.    Included  with  the  minutes 
is  a  biographical   sketch  of  Rev.   Lemuel  Burkitt 
and  a  copy  of  the  deed  to  the  property  on  which 
the  church  stood  in  1821. 

Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church  Minutes- 

1804-1855  Lost  by  fire.   One  contemporary  record 
during  this  period  has  been  secured  by  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.   Francis  Speight  of  Doylestown, 
Perm.   A  copy  of  the  record  entitled  "A  List  of 
Sandy  Run  Members  since  our  Last  Association  1831" 
is  now  in  the  Wake  Forest  College  Library. 

Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church  Minutes- 

1886-1950  3  volumes,   In  custody  of   the  Church  of 
Sandy  Run  Baptist  Church,   Roxobel,   N.  C. 

West  Chowan  Baptist  Association  Minutes- 


1886-1949   in  the  Wake  Forest  Colleae  Library